Alaska Native Village and Rural Communities Grant Program

OverviewIn 1995, EPA, through funding from Congress, created a grant program to assist Alaska Native Villages (ANVs) and Alaska rural communities with the construction of new or improved drinking water and wastewater systems. This funding can also be used to provide training and technical assistance in the operations and maintenance of these systems. Significant human health and water quality problems exist in these communities due to unacceptable sanitation conditions.

Through 2014, $489 million has been provided to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to address the needs of both rural and native Alaska communities. Grant Funds are made available by the EPA Regional Office in Seattle, Washington to Alaska DEC. The DEC, in turn, administers these funds through its Village Safe Water (VSW) Program. The VSW Program’s goal is "to improve public health and compliance with environmental laws by upgrading the level of sanitation facilities in rural communities through financial and technical assistance." The Program uses a priority list to identify community projects eligible for funding.

Funding History

ANV Program funding – Table summarizing program funding amounts and number of projects funded between 1995 and 2014.

Grant GuidelinesEPA headquarters has issued grant guidance to manage the ANV grant. The Grant Guidelines describe how the EPA will award and administer the Alaska Rural and Native Villages Program Grant as authorized by the Congressional Appropriation Acts and Section 113a of the Clean Water Act. The Guidelines are not scheduled to be reissued annually, but will be updated when necessary.